Next-generation Vehicle Descriptions: Writing Selling Descriptions for Millennial’s

There are a lot of myths out there about millennials and the auto industry, but you can’t let that get in the way of your business. The fact of the matter is that the millennial generation – including people born between 1971 and 1982 – represents some $200 billion in annual purchasing power. And a great method for tapping into that buying potential is with effective vehicle descriptions. They’re the perfect tool for reaching millennials in a style that matches up with their shopping preferences. 

First off, let’s debunk one of the biggest misconceptions about millennials. You’ve probably seen a lot of headlines about how people in the millennial generation simply don’t like cars anymore. Well, when you dig deeper, you’ll see that that’s not necessarily the case. Car ownership among millennials may be down compared to other generations, but there are reasons for that besides lack of interest. 

 

Millennials tend to make less money than past generations while facing more debt. They have different lifestyles, too, as they prefer to live in cities and often don’t have families yet. All of those factors mean that even if a millennial loves cars, they may not own one. 

 

But the same factors do offer a template for writing effective vehicle descriptions that attract millennial shoppers. By flipping those negatives around, you know that your best bet is to craft copy that focuses on value and urban driving instead of expensive features and huge SUVs or trucks. In fact, a recent study by the insurance experts at QuoteWizard showed that the six most popular vehicles driven by millennials – and eight out of the top 10 – were affordable compact and midsize cars. 

Your vehicle descriptions reach millennials when those folks are already in their favorite shopping place: online. These younger consumers much prefer buying products over the Internet, partly because of trust issues. According to a recent eBook from the digital commerce company Modal, fewer than 20 percent of millennials think that people, in general, are trustworthy. Online shopping actually gives millennials more confidence in the buying process by eliminating the human element. That’s especially important in our business, since auto dealers face a constant uphill battle to build trust with their customers. Think of vehicle descriptions as another excellent tactic for inspiring confidence in your dealership.

 

Providing honest, accurate information, without high-pressure language or inflated claims, lets shoppers know what they can expect from both your vehicle and your dealership as well. You should also make sure your vehicle descriptions highlight the most popular features. This will appeal to millennials’ preferences for shopping convenience. For example, if your vehicle description doesn’t mention connectivity technologies like available WiFi, you’re forcing readers to take an extra step in the buying process to find out about that elsewhere. Which is probably where your business will end up going as a result.

Of course, just because your vehicle descriptions are online doesn’t mean millennial readers are going to see them. If you want that to happen, you need to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and use the same search terms they do. We recommend sticking to the basics. Millennials want to know about a vehicle’s engine, drive type, transmission, body style, and color; the ones interested in used cars will be looking at whether a vehicle is accident-free, how many owners it’s had, and if it’s certified or not. But what these buyers probably aren’t going to do is search for terms like VVTi, DOHC, or 16X7J wheels. You don’t want to waste readers’ time by making them flip back and forth to Google – or a competitor’s site – to decode the auto jargon of typical automotive ad writers. 

 

You shouldn’t be too general, either. Searching for “cars for sale” brings up close to 3 trillion results. Millennials aren’t going to spend their time wading through all those listings just to find your vehicle description. Especially when they can drastically reduce how many search results they have to deal with by Googling a specific car model that studies show they prefer. For example, the number of results returned for “2018 Honda Accord EX-L Sedan 4 Cylinder for sale” is less than 1% of the total for all cars for sale. Remember these buyers may be shopping on a phone or a laptop, and by voice or by keywords, but however they’re doing it, they want their answers in the fastest possible way. 

Putting It All Together

 

As time goes on, millennials will become increasingly important to your dealership’s long-term success. But now is the right moment to begin reaching out to millennial customers, and the right vehicle descriptions are an ideal place to start:

 

  • Going online gives millennials the convenience they prefer
  • Writing in an open, honest style builds the confidence they seek
  • Highlighting affordable sedans and hatchbacks shows them the vehicles they want
  • Using the right terms puts you higher on their list of search results
  • Hiring Dealer Assist Now delivers high-quality vehicle descriptions, written by real people, so you don’t have to worry about it

 

Need Help? We have a team of Automotive writers that have written 7.7 Million Vehicles for Dealers just like you – Contact Aaron Johnson – 402-679-7223 – aaron@dealerassistnow.com